


Thief, Pirate, Liar

by Shadow_Chaser



Series: In Blinded Skies [11]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Daredevil (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Could be considered last of the kid-fics in timeline, Daisy/Skye is about 12 or 13-ish, Gen, Implied Matt Murdock/Kate Bishop, Loss of Innocence, Matt and Katie are about 16/17-ish, Skye's neophyte hacking catches up to her, St. Agnes Orphanage, Strong Language, there are consequences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-12-18 00:20:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11862717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadow_Chaser/pseuds/Shadow_Chaser
Summary: Skye learns that there are severe consequences for her attempts to hack her way into a better life for her and her friends.





	1. Chapter 1

School had not resumed until late September of that year and even then, they had been bused to a different borough because their school had been used as one of the centers for search and rescue for those at the Twin Towers. It was a congestion and traffic nightmare being at the new school – and so Skye and the others found themselves on a night shift learning schedule. The learning environment had not changed much, Skye was aware that the teachers were hushed and some occasionally had even stopped in the middle of lessons, staring at a point far away from the classroom itself. Even her fellow classmates occasionally were silent, some of them absent for a few days returning only to leave again. More often than not, the teachers gave a lot of breaks and it was one of these breaks that Skye found herself sitting out in one of the courtyards of the new school, absently drawing on the dirt ground with a stick she found nearby. There were several older girls and boys around the courtyard, but Skye didn't pay much attention to them until a small group of girls walked by and sat down near one of the benches, the smell of their dinners wafting in the air.

“So didja hear?” one of the girls started, excitement in her voice.

“What? Hear what?” another said, before the sounds of loud crunching echoed in the air.

Skye grimaced; that was totally gross and she did not even need to look up to know that the girl had eaten her food with her mouth completely open.

“The teachers are saying that someone in this school stole money,” the same girl that had first spoken up, smugness evident in her voice. Skye turned her head a little, looking at the girls out of the corner of her eye. She stopped scratching the ground with her stick.

“Mel, everyone steals everyone else's lunch money,” another girl groused, “how the hell is this supposed to be news?!”

“No, no,” the girl that had spoke up, Mel, shook her head, “I mean like big money. Like say if someone in your Dad's firm decided that your Dad didn't deserve his money type of stealing.”

“How? That's, like, impossible. You, like, can't do that! It's illegal-”

“Which is why it's called stealing, Nicole,” another girl cut her off, “duh...”

“Shut up.”

“Yeah, so the teachers had a meeting today. I asked Mrs. Andrews what's going on and she said mind my own business, but I over heard her and Mrs. Winfield saying that the money being stolen is huge. I mean if our parents found out-”

“Totally telling my Mom and Dad. Mom's gonna be pissed-”

“You tell your parents everything, Stef. It's a wonder that they know that you're sleeping with Dave and Nick at the same time.”

“Hey, my parents say that as long as I'm not coming home with a baby in my belly, I can do whatever the shit I want.”

“And Nick's cool with this?”

A throaty laugh emerged, “Get this, both of them are cool with it. They get to take their turns at the same time-”

Skye forcibly jammed a finger into her ears as she stood up and tried her best to discreetly walk away from where she had been scratching the dirt. She could feel her face heat up in embarrassment at what the girls were now talking about and tried to not continue to overhear their conversation which had devolved from something serious into raunchiness. She was not aware that her departure had been noticed by the girls and that one had pointed to her while whispering conspiratorially to her friends.

The rest of the school day passed quickly, but Skye could feel an odd sensation, like she was being carefully watched. However, when she tried to see who was looking, no one seemed to be staring at her. Once or twice, she thought that the teachers were staring at her, but even then it seemed normal out of the context that they were asking her a question and waiting for her to provide an answer. She could not shake the feeling of dread that had started to build in her.

The bus ride home to St. Agnes had solidified the dread and made her a little ill from the sway and turns of the bumpy streets. She could see Matt giving her looks of concern, but only gave him a small smile, still mindful that Katie was sitting next to Matt, their hands intertwined with each other. She knew better now, to stay away from Matt whenever Katie was around or even was nearby. She missed her friend terribly, but in the brief times that she got to talk to him, it soothed some of the aches. She knew that it was a part of growing up and she valued her friends a lot. They were like her family, even if Katie was still cold, but cordial to her since the whole incident with Blankie. 9/11 had left everyone subdued and reeling in its aftermath; old fights seemed sort of trivial though lingering feelings of jealous and hatred still existed.

When the bus stopped, she stood up and exited with the other children and teenagers that were at St. Agnes. It was only when she hopped off the bus did she noticed that there were a couple of nuns, including Sister Mary who were waiting out front; along with a few men and women dressed in very nice looking business suits. She wondered if they were here to adopt people, but that thought was quickly banished when Sister Mary gestured towards her.

“Skye, can you please come with us? These nice people would like to ask you a few questions,” though Sister Mary's voice was gentle and welcoming, Skye could not help the brief thrill of fear that shot through her.

She did not like the grim looks the men and women in the suits wore. Her heart raced as she could feel her palms grow sweaty. “S-Sure-”

“Skye-”

Matt's warm hand suddenly engulfed hers from behind and she could hear the concern in her voice. At the same time, she heard a huff of anger from Katie behind her and shook his hand of her fingers. “I-I'm fine, Matt...” she lied.

“But-”

“Mattie, this doesn't concern you,” another sister, Maggie, if Skye remembered correctly, approached. Her smile looked sad, but genuine as she reached out and gestured for Katie and Matt to move along. “Please, move along.” She reached a kind, but firm hand out to Skye, “Skye, my dear?”

“Y-Yes, Sister,” Skye clung onto the matronly air that Sister Maggie had and grabbed her hand before she was pulled forward to meet the ones in the suits. Sister Mary reached out and patted her gently on her head, as if she was still a child and the last thing Skye saw of her two friends was frowns on their faces. Then she was led into the Mother Superior's office and unceremoniously sat down.

The door closed behind them and both Sister Mary and Sister Maggie sat down near the doors while the four men and women in suits stood around the Mother Superior's desks, their faces impassive and unreadable.

“M-Mother Superior,” Skye addressed the head of St. Agnes, trying to calm herself down. She had done nothing wrong, the dread in her stomach was nothing indicative of what she had done.

“Skye,” the Mother Superior stared at her, her brown eyes firm but unyielding. “Do you have anything to confess?”

“N-No, Mother,” she shook her head, trying to tamp down on her fear. “What happened? Did...did...” She lost her words as she swallowed and fell silent.

“Skye,” the Mother started again, “these men and women are here from the FBI. I am presuming that while you are still young, you are old enough in your years to know what that means, right?”

“Yes, Mother,” Skye flicked a look at them before focusing back on the Mother Superior. “Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

“Well, my child?”

“I...have nothing to confess,” she said before looking at them. They seemed unmoved. She turned back in time to see the Mother Superior sigh and shake her head. “Very well then. I cannot give you absolution of your crimes, my child, nor can I give you absolution to the lies you have just told.”

“L-Lies?”

“Mother Superior, it is better if we explain this,” one of the agents of the FBI spoke up and stepped forward. She had a severe look about her that perhaps Skye thought once could have been kind. But it seemed that however many years she was in the FBI, it had erased all traces of kindness from her. Skye watched as the Mother Superior nod and sit back, content to let the female agent speak.

“Since the terror attacks on the Twin Towers, we have been scrutinizing the money trail left that enabled the attack on our country,” the agent started, “we've noticed some inconsistencies-”

“I'm not a terrorist!” she blurted out, appalled that the FBI thought she was one of _those_ people. “I...I don't even know how to make bombs! I don't know how to kill people-”

“Shh, shh,” Sister Mary suddenly rushed forward and placed a calming hand on her as the agent shook her head.

“You are not, Skye,” the agent had a glimmer of sympathy in her eye, “but that doesn't mean you've done something illegal, young lady.”

“I-Illegal?” Skye forced herself to stay calm after her outburst. The fear gripped her now, making her palms sweaty and her heart racing.

“We know you stole money from your school,” the agent stared at her, “and we looked into it. You were registered in a few computer courses during your time there and we were able to trace the IP addresses to your workstation in the computer lab as well as to the Mother Superior's desk here.”

“I...I didn't steal any money!” she was shocked, “Mr. and Mrs. Burke, they...they were able to enroll me into that school and I got my friends in-” She abruptly stopped as she realized what she was about to say. “I...Mr. and Mrs. Burke wanted me to go to the school-”

“Yes,” the agent knelt down in front of her and took one of her hands. Her hands felt warm against the coldness of her own fingers. “The records we pulled showed that you also were able to enroll both Katherine Bishop and Matthew Murdock into your school-”

“They have nothing to do with this!”

“Hush, child,” Sister Mary squeezed her shoulder and she fell silent, tears starting to form at the corner of her eyes.

“I...didn't steal anything,” she said plaintively.

“But you hacked into records and made it so that your friend, Katherine, was able to pass her classes even though she had failing grades. It was highly illegal and unethical. The IP addresses and video camera footage we found corroborates the evidence that you were there. There was at least a thousand dollars withdrawn and money was spent to buy drugs from a known drug dealer. You also stole money from Matthew when it looked like you were running out of money and wanted to stay at the school-”

“No!” Skye remembered that particular incident, “Matt...I separated my account from Matt's-”

She stopped at the sudden intake of breath from Sister Mary and realized what she had done. Skye slapped a hand against her own mouth at her inadvertent confession. She tried to shake her hand loose from the agent's own, but she held fast. “Let go of me!” she said, but the agent squeezed her hand tight. “Let go-”

“Please drop your innocent act, Skye,” the agent stared at her, “you are not a child and your hacking of accounts and money withdrawn to buy drugs-”

“Katie said she needed that for her books-”

The agent suddenly made a quick motion and two agents suddenly opened the door and stepped out. Skye glanced fearfully at the door, catching a glimpse of what might have been Matt, sans Katie, sitting on a nearby bench in the halls to the Mother Superior's office. There was a rather pronounced frown on his face, but it was all she saw as the door closed behind the agents. The silence that reigned in the room in the aftermath was unnaturally loud.

“Mother, perhaps we should consider-”

“Not now, Sister Maggie,” the Mother Superior waved a hand at Sister Maggie who fell silent again.

The sudden muffled scream followed by a loud thump made Skye jump in her chair before she looked up. It had come from the higher floors of the orphanage, where all the children and teenagers slept. The crackle of a radio made her jump again and she glanced down to where the agent was still holding her hand tight.

“She's been subdued. Caught her red-handed, unloading the drugs she's acquired real quick. Looks like she knew the gig was up,” one of the agents' voice spoke up.

“And the buyers?” the female agent swept her radio up into her hand and spoke into it.

“The Sisters up here were able to hold onto them,” was the crackling reply.

“Very well,” the agent nodded, “make the arrest.” She holstered the radio again and looked at Skye.

“I...I don't know what's going on,” Skye tried to plead, but she could tell that her professed innocence was not swaying the agent.

“It may be that, but you are still under arrest for cyber crimes, Skye,” the agent produced a pair of handcuffs and Skye started to cry. She tried to squirm out of the grip of the agent's hand as the cold metal cuffs were slapped onto her wrist, but Sister Mary's firm grip on her shoulder prevented her form going far. Her other hand was brought up and the cuffs went on it.

Wet, salty tears tracked down her face as she came to grips with what was happening. She could not believe that her efforts, her attempt to make a better life for her friends was falling apart like this. “I...I didn't d-do it,” she hiccuped as she was pulled up and looked tearfully up at Sister Mary. “I didn't do it, Sister Mary! Please! Believe me! I...”

“I am sorry, Skye,” the sister had a sympathetic look on her face and she looked around the room. Sister Maggie also looked sympathetic, but she only shook her head as she opened the door and Skye found herself marched out.

There was a crowd now, curious orphans and even a few adults that had been visiting staring from various areas. Matt had stood up, his frown turned into a stricken look. Skye opened her mouth to say something when a terrible screech filled the air.

“YOU FUCKING BITCH!”

It took Skye a moment to realize that the words had been directed towards her. She looked towards the sound and saw Katie staring venomously at her as she was all but hauled down the stairs by the two agents. Her hands were cuffed in front of her, but the agents restrained her. Their grips were tight on her arms as she tried to fight her way out of their hold. Skye suddenly shrunk back as Katie made a half-successful lunge at her.

“You fucking son of a bitch!” she screeched again, “it's all your fucking fault that this happened! You fucking rat! You sold me out-”

“Katie-”

“Don't fucking be so fucking innocent, fucking cunt!”

Skye stared, horror filling her as she could not recognize her friend by the sheer amount of fury and anger clouding her face. Katie looked completely foreign as she was suddenly pushed back and her vision was filled with the familiar suit of the agent that had talked to her.

“Jackson, Enfield, get her out of here now,” the agent's voice was oddly protective before something heavy was placed on her head. Skye almost struggled before she realized it was a jacket covering her. “Skye,” the agent's voice was firm, but now kind, “keep your head low and don't look at anyone or anything.”

“But-”

“Let's go.”

Skye was unceremoniously propelled forward against her will and she stumbled before regaining her footsteps. She had no choice but to follow, but the familiar sound of tapping on the ground behind her made her want to turn back. She could hear Matt's confused tapping with his cane as he clearly tried to follow, before it was abruptly stopped.

“Mattie, you can't,” she thought she heard Sister Maggie's voice behind her.

Skye wanted to apologize, but she was suddenly swept out of the door and she knew she lost her chance to even say goodbye or apologize for what had happened. As she was hustled into a car, she hoped that maybe one day, Matt would be able to forgive her.

 


	2. Chapter 2

St. Agnes looked different even after just two months away from it, Skye decided. She had always disliked the orphanage, but now, she could see it for what it was – and it was certainly not her home. She trudged back into the building that had once been her home and ignored Sister Mary's attempts to welcome her back. Brushing past the nun, she made her way up the stairs by two and hurried to the room that was still hers.

She had spent a month and half in juvenile detention for her actions, the judging giving her the most lenient sentence since it was her first crime and because she was an unwitting partner in Katie's machinations. She knew she had been lucky in that respect. Katie had been given a six-month sentence and a hundred hours of community service. They both had been placed in the same juvenile detention center, but she rarely saw Katie – unwilling to associate with her or even acknowledge their friendship. She had testified in Katie's trial and Katie had testified in her trial. But they had been ugly words; words that showed the depth of the hatred her friend – no, her _former_ friend had for her. As far as she was concerned, Katie was no longer friends with her and that was fine by Skye.

Her month in the detention center had taught her that she could not rely on anyone; that she had to rely on herself and her charity towards others would only be there for others to better themselves. It had also stripped her of any of the naievty she had remaining as she understood how the world worked now. She was on guard now, wary, cautious, and far angrier once the shock of what had happened worn off.

St. Agnes would never be her home. It was just a temporary stay, much like the families that had adopted her. All would abandon her as soon as they got the chance. She would not let it abandon her first when she could leave herself. They would not rope her into their schemes without the full truth of their nature coming out. Sister Mary's kindness could not be more than a ploy – the sister never cared for her and only saw her as a charge, a ward, someone that they had to clothe and feed because if they did not, the state would charge them with abandonment. She was nothing more than a burden on them.

The sudden knock on her door startled Skye as she tensed reflexively on it before forcing herself to relax. A knock on the door to her cell was never pleasant during her month's stay. The guards that came to check on her had not bothered to knock and instead, only allowed her a moment to compose herself as they used their keys to unlock the door.

“What,” she snapped. She had only gotten back – who the hell wanted something from her.

“Skye, it's Matt.”

The voice was so foreign, so deep that Skye stared at the closed door for a long moment. “Matt...Murdock?” she asked.

“...Yeah,” the deep voice sounded dubious.

“You...sound-”

“My voice finally stopped cracking,” the cadence still sounded exactly like Matt, but Skye could not help but feel utterly confused by how deep Matt's voice sounded. “It's puberty, Skye. You went through it, everyone goes through it.”

“Shut up, asshole,” the swear fell out of her mouth and for a moment Skye felt a very familiar twinge of regret before she huffed an annoyed sigh and pushed herself off of her bed and opened the door. She was about to apologize, but ended up staring at her friend in surprise. She had known Matt to be tall, but somehow, she felt as if he had somehow grown up while she had been gone. A disquieting sensation filled her as she realized the reason why she was surprised. It was Katie's fault – Katie had kept Matt all to herself and in the brief times that Skye had been able to talk to her friend, it was few and far in between. Matt and Katie had been too busy doing whatever couples did – which Skye knew was definitely more than kissing considering her own awareness.

“When the hell did you grow?” she asked instead and saw the familiar frown on Matt's face.

“I stopped growing last year,” his voice – she still could not get over at how _deep_ it sounded – was defensive and sounded a little hurt. “That's two dollars in the swear jar-”

“Yeah, whatever,” Skye waved off the childish whim, “two dollars ain't gonna get you anything at the commissary.”

“Skye-”

“Listen, you come here for something?” she asked, feeling annoyed all of the sudden. She did not even let him answer as she continued in a rush, “No? Then please leave. I just got out of jail, juvie, whatever, and I'm tired. I want to sleep and I don't want to talk to anyone. Great for you to stop by, but visiting hours are over.”

“Skye-” the frown became even more pronounced and Skye glared at Matt.

“Good night, Matthew Murdock,” she said firmly before stepping back and closing the door. A few seconds later, she heard his footsteps and cane moving away from her door. She resolutely ignored the twinge of guilt she felt.

* * *

The next couple of months since her return solidified the growing resolve she had to run away from St. Agnes; to run away and never return. It had started the night after she had repulsed Matt's attempts to talk to her. She could not see St. Agnes as her home anymore, not after everything that had happened. She could not see past the false smiles and nods the nuns wore in face of other children's questions. They could not understand nor were they inclined to explain.

She had been enrolled in a public school, the special school no longer accepting her into their classes. The teens at the school teased her mercilessly to the point where she wished she could use the school's computer to hack in and change their grades. But she knew better now; she had to do it in a far more discreet fashion if she wanted to get her revenge.

The teasing and the whispering did not stop at the school. The children at the orphanage all talked about her behind her back. She could not hear their words, but she knew what they had been talking about – that she was a criminal now, that she had a black mark on their record. Everyone avoided her now, even Matt during meal times. Once or twice, she had caught him staring at her, but as she met his opaque lenses, he turned away or decided to talk to someone else. She forced herself to not care.

She was glad in a way, because Matt was also apparently dating another girl – one who wore some faint floral body spray, that she occasionally smelled in the halls. She had no inclination of getting to know the new girl that Matt was dating and his willingness to avoid her only made her decision to leave St. Agnes easier. She could not live here in the city anymore. But most of all, she did not want to be here after Katie got out of juvenile detention. Katie's eyes the day that she had been arrested spoke all the words that Skye needed to know – her former friend vowed revenge on her.

But first, she needed money.

It had taken her a whole month since she had made her decision to acquire the keys to the Mother Superior's office. The process was not easy as the locks on the door to the office were far older than her usual hairpin and paper clip combination. She had learned how to pick locks at juvie; not to free herself, but to at least keep her fingers and mind occupied from the tedium of not being able to use a computer. This lock was heavy and old and while Skye was pretty sure that if she had something heavier to break into it, she could, but otherwise, contented herself on acquiring the keys.

She smiled as she unlocked the door and carefully stepped in. The Mother Superior's office was unchanged and Skye scoffed. It seemed that the woman had decided that locking her door was the best defense against anyone trying to hack into her computer. There was not even a single security camera that she could see. She hurried over to the desk and found that a log-in was needed. At least it was some consolation that the Mother Superior had upgraded the meager security to her computer. But still too easy as Skye brought up a DOS window and started to forcibly override the log-in through a backdoor.

She quickly got in and began her search for the bank accounts. It did not take her long to find the one she was looking for and she started to transfer the money to a particular account that she remembered the Burkes had set up a long time ago. When she had been adopted by them, she had been added to their will and a trust fund had been set up in her name. She had been told that legally she could not access the account, but Skye had plans to talk to the Burkes' lawyer to access the account once she was finished.

“Not getting a single cent from me anymore,” she muttered as she watched the numbers slowly tick down to zero.

She was so focused on the numbers that she only caught the sound of someone entering the office when the door handle creaked as it opened. She stared, fear running through her for a moment before it was temporarily abated at the sight of Matt who had opened the door. “Matt,” she stated flatly, not exactly surprised to see her friend standing by the door. It was how he had caught her hacking in the last time, so many years ago. “You've got super hearing or something?”

“You're leaving, aren't you?” Matt ignored her question and stared at her with his rectangular glasses. In the faint light of the windows and the dim hallway lights of the orphanage, it looked like he was staring straight at her. Matt's gaze was normally off by a few inches, but this time it looked almost like he could see what she was doing. It unsettled her.

“What about it?” she asked as she saw that the numbers had reached zero and she hit a few keystrokes. The windows disappeared and she typed in a quick command to erase her own presence in the system. It had been something she had learned during her time at juvie from a fellow hacker serving an even longer sentence.

Matt had a frown on his face, but Skye saw that it was tinged with some sadness. She looked away, trying to ignore the look he was giving her. “There's nothing left for me here. The school's gone, everyone just talks about how I've been to jail so I must be a bad person. I'm never gonna get adopted because of my juvie stint, and you-”

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Matt flinch.

“-You're going to graduate soon and leave me behind again. There's nothing to stay for and I'm going to leave before anyone can hurt me again.”

“Do you really feel that way?” Matt sounded disappointed and Skye felt something in her twist, stung by his words.

“Yeah,” she forced herself to stay firm, “Matt, you're a good person. I know you probably want to convince me to stay, but I've made up my mind. I'm leaving. We're not kids anymore so let's not pretend to be, all right?”

“You've changed,” her friend stated flatly.

“No,” she shook her head, “I just grew up. I see the world as it is right now and it's one where I have to make my own path. I can't rely on anyone or anything. I can't put my faith in anyone because they either are powerless to do anything or are willing to use you for their own gain.”

“Katie-”

“I don't want to talk about her,” she interrupted with a glare, “and I'm glaring right now so don't push me, Murdock.”

Matt acknowledged her flat tone with a brief nod of his own. He fell silent for a moment before speaking up quietly, shifting his grip on his cane, “You could have asked me for help if you needed money-”

“I don't need your charity,” Skye cut him off again, her voice a little shrill, “you weren't the one who was caught, Matt. You didn't get caught by the stupid security cameras or the amateur tricks-”

“I'm sorry,” her friend interrupted, “I'm sorry that you were caught. I was powerless to do anything to help my friend, to help you.”

“No, Matt,” Skye shook her head, “you were like the others, just too selfish.” Something in Matt's expression crinkled with hurt, but she continued. “Katie used you, used me, but you were too engrossed in the mundane things that you can't hear, can't see, can't even feel or use your other senses to realize the problems that were in front of you. That's also my fault, for being so naive, so blinded to what was happening until it was too late. I wanted to ignore it, ignore what was happening in front of me. Maybe we were both selfish, thinking of our selves, thinking that we could be obliviously happy in the orphanage and at the school.

She smiled bitterly, “That's not how the world works now. I can see that. That's why I'm leaving. Because this place...this city...” She shook her head, “You're a good person, Matt. Me? I'm not.”

“Just because you spent a month and half in juvie; Skye, you're a good person like me-”

“And that's precisely it,” she replied, “it's because of that, that you're a good person. You still _believe_. Me, I don't.”

“I don't believe that, you're lying.”

“I'm not,” Skye could not keep the tremble out of her voice. Why was Matt suddenly making it so hard for her to leave. Why was he calling her out on her half-truth? She wanted nothing more than the scream and shout at him, but at the same time, she knew that it would not do her any good nor would it be productive. In fact, it would only hinder her and make her want to do nothing more than cry.

“Yes, you are,” he said firmly.

“Shut up,” she hissed, feeling tears prick at the corner of her eyes. “Just shut up and leave me alone!”

“No,” he shook his head, his tone flat.

“What is going on here?!” the voice of the Mother Superior seemingly startled both and Skye saw Matt turn, surprise evident on his face.

It was a rare sight as she had never seen her friend surprised at anything. But it seemed that the Mother Superior's presence had gone unnoticed in their argument.

“Matthew Murdock, what are you-” the elderly woman finally saw her and her mouth turned into a perfect 'o'. “Skye,” she stated flatly.

Skye did not say a single word and instead glared at the old woman. She _hated_ her after what had happened. She had always thought that the Mother Superior to be distant and removed, but after that day in her office, she had been furious and angry. She moved from the desk as the Mother Superior walked in until they were on opposite sides of each other from when they had first seen each other. Skye saw the Mother Superior type in a few keystrokes before looking at her.

“You did it again, didn't you, child?”

Skye didn't answer and instead settled for a hard stare at the elderly woman.

“One month and two weeks was too lenient of a sentence. I will call to have them take you back-”

“You'll do no such thing, Mother Superior,” Matt suddenly pushed past Skye and stood in front of her, his voice firm, commanding.

“Excuse me, Mr. Murdock?”

“You heard me,” Matt tilted his head a little. “Unless you wish for certain enterprises that you have been overseeing to make themselves known to the other nuns of St. Agnes, nor of the parish that supports this orphanage.”

“How dare you-”

“Perhaps money laundering the accounts of the orphans who have had trust funds placed in their names? I know about that from Stick, Mother Superior. It was why he demanded half of my funds. Because he knew that you would take a little bit from the others, including Skye's for your own comforts. Nothing that would raise the metaphoric red flags, Mother, but definitely enough over the years-”

“That was for the good of the orphanage and paid for repairs-”

“And how you inflated the repair estimates to benefit your own well-being. There are other things that I've heard and learned about in my years here, ma'am. Petty crimes, really, but crimes nonetheless. How the Sisters, the Bishop, and even Father Lantom would love to hear of your schemes,” Matt continued.

“You have no evidence-”

“I have leverage,” Matt countered before pointing with a thumb towards Skye, “and she has the means.”

“You will go to jail for this-”

“No, Mother, you will,” Matt shook his head, “when you decided to call the FBI and by extension get the NSA involved. The new wiretapping and warrantless surveillance law enabled the NSA to tap your lines and by extension your computer in order to find out who was hacking into your systems to transfer money. You allowed them in and they stayed all in the name of security. All that has to happen is a major hacking, nothing like what Skye just did, but a major one and the FBI and NSA will be back. They'll go through the files with a fine tooth comb and they'll notice the discrepancies.”

“You don't know that-”

“You should study the law some time, Mother,” her friend had a mirthless smile on his face, “and for that, you'll let whatever Skye's done pass. You'll let her leave without any issue and you'll give her the thousand dollars you have stolen little by little from the accounts that you stash up in that cabinet over there.”

Skye had to admit, she had never see the Mother Superior's face turn as white as the cornette she wore. But at the same time, she could not help but stare at Matt at the sheer amount of confidence he had in his voice and words. She was further surprised as the Mother Superior stood up and reluctantly went to her cabinet and pulled open a drawer before rifling through it. The old woman produced a rather thick envelope which she handed to Skye.

Skye stared at it before tentatively taking it and opened it. Her eyes nearly fell out of her head at the sheer amount of bills, all in various denominations, she saw in it. “Uh...”

“Leave now, Skye,” she almost didn't hear Matt's next words as they were spoken so quietly.

“W-What-”

“If you're going to go, now's the time to do so,” Matt glanced back at her and she saw him nod once. “The Mother Superior won't do anything right now. You're free.”

Skye opened her mouth and closed it looking from her friend to the elderly woman and back before the reality of what was happening hit her. Far from condemning her, Matt was helping her and in that sense, she could only nod mutely.

“You're a good person Matt,” she murmured. As much as she wanted to hug him goodbye, she could not. Not with everything that had happened. Instead, she closed the envelope and hurried out of the office the door shutting close behind her.

The last time she saw her friend, he was standing tall and proud, cane clutched between his fingers. She had never known Matt to be that protective, to have that much knowledge and to use the knowledge in such a way. She had physically helped protect him in the years that they had grown up together – from playground bullies to orphans who resented Matt's monetary status and privileges. And as Skye ran away from St. Agnes orphanage, she knew that she would probably never see her friend again.

She was truly alone.

 

~END~

 


End file.
